February 19
It's finally here.... but does it live up to the hype?
I also picked up a copy of the Street Fighter IV "Collectors Edition" for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, an Xbox 360 "Street Fighter IV Arcade Stick" by MadCatz, and the strategy guide. (I don't really NEED the strategy guide, but I thought I'd pick it up anyway... Yes, I'm that much of a Street Fighter fanatic!)
I have friends who own the PlayStation 3, friends who own the Xbox 360, and a few other friends who own both consoles. Since I wasn't sure which of my friends were going to be playing on the PS3, and which would be playing on 360, I decided to pick up BOTH versions.
PS3 vs Xbox 360:
- Visuals / Graphics - The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Street Fighter IV are nearly indistinguishable. Both games are gorgeous and the overall artistic "cell-shaded" look definitely bring this 2D fighter into the new millennium.
- Load Times - This is where the differences between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are really noticeable. Out of the box, without installing the game to the hard drive of either console, the Xbox 360 version of Street Fighter IV blows away its PlayStation 3 counterpart.
Load Times Test 1: Load from DVD / Blu-Ray Disc:
- Xbox 360 ........ 5.3 seconds
- PlayStation 3 .. 21.3 Seconds
Load Times Test 1: Load from Hard Disc Drive:
- Xbox 360 ........ 8.5 seconds
- PlayStation 3 .. 8.4 Seconds
- Controls - This one is a tough call. The controls in Street Fighter IV are excellent; wether you're a seasoned Street Fighter player or it's your first time takin' it to the streets, you'll be pulling off supers and ultras in no time. So the in-game controls are pretty much spot-on, so why is it a "tough call"?
The downfall isn't with the game, it's with the controllers used to play the game. The direction pad (D-Pad) on the Xbox 360 controller is horrible, while the L2 / R2 triggers on the PlayStation 3 controller are just as bad. (Yes, this is my personal opinion... but then again, this is MY blog.) So, if you don't own an Arcade Stick, you may find yourself enjoying the PS3 version a bit more.... if you own an arcade stick for either console, there's really not much difference.
[ more to come]
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